The battle over the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial ticket for Imo West has taken a dramatic turn following a Certified True Copy (CTC) of an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) monitoring report which reportedly lists former Imo State Governor, Senator Rochas Okorocha, as the winner of the party’s May 18, 2026 senatorial primary.
The development was disclosed on Wednesday by the Progressive Lawyers Forum (PLF), which said the INEC document recorded Okorocha as the APC candidate for Imo West after securing 150,780 votes, in sharp contrast to the result announced by the party’s returning officer, Rear Admiral Williams Kayode (rtd.), who declared Governor Hope Uzodimma winner with 230,464 votes.
The disputed ticket is already before the Federal High Court in Abuja, where Okorocha is challenging INEC’s publication of Uzodimma as the APC candidate for the 2027 Imo West Senatorial election.
According to the INEC monitoring report dated June 16, 2026, the commission monitored the APC senatorial primaries conducted simultaneously across Imo State’s three senatorial districts.
The report stated that the exercise commenced at about 2:30 p.m. and was conducted through direct primary, with INEC officials monitoring the process.
It listed Alexander Mbata as the winner of the Imo East primary with 121,680 votes, Okorocha as the winner of Imo West with 150,780 votes, and Patrick Chiwuba Ndubueze as the winner of Imo North with 108,826 votes.
“From our independent monitoring of the primary, Mbata Alexander in Imo East Senatorial Zone, Sen. Ethelbert Rochas Okorocha in Imo West Senatorial Zone, and Ndubueze Patrick Chiwuba in Imo North Senatorial Zone scored the highest number of valid votes cast in their respective Senatorial Zones,” the report stated.
The document was signed by Gyang D. Dung, Team Lead, Imo Monitoring Team, and the Progressive Lawyers Forum said it was subsequently certified as a true copy by the relevant INEC office in Abuja.
The alleged INEC record has consequently introduced a major documentary conflict into the APC’s Imo West ticket dispute, with the figures attributed to the electoral commission differing substantially from the result announced by the ruling party.
Rear Admiral Kayode had declared Uzodimma the winner of the May 18 primary with 230,464 votes, while Okorocha was recorded as having polled only 1,098 votes in the result announced by the APC.
However, court documents filed by Okorocha contain another set of figures, with his supporting affidavit alleging that he scored 150,780 votes against Uzodimma’s 102,158 votes.
The Progressive Lawyers Forum described the certified INEC document as a significant piece of evidence in determining the rightful APC candidate for Imo West.
The forum argued that the document raised fundamental questions about subsequent claims concerning the outcome of the primary, insisting that the dispute should be resolved on the basis of electoral records, applicable rules and credible documentary evidence.
It said the people of Orlu Senatorial District deserved clarity on who validly emerged from the APC primary, adding that the certified INEC report would form part of the documents to be relied upon in the ongoing court proceedings.
Okorocha’s suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1854/2026, was filed against INEC, Uzodimma and the APC.
Among other reliefs, the former governor is asking the Federal High Court to direct INEC to recognise and publish him as the duly nominated APC candidate for the Imo West Senatorial election.
He is also seeking an order setting aside INEC’s publication of Uzodimma as the party’s candidate and restraining the governor from presenting himself as the APC nominee for the senatorial election.
The Progressive Lawyers Forum urged all parties involved in the dispute to allow the judiciary to determine the matter, expressing confidence that the court would examine the competing electoral documents alongside the applicable law before reaching its decision.
The forum maintained that the eventual judgment would determine the legally recognised outcome of the disputed APC primary and provide clarity on the party’s Imo West senatorial ticket ahead of the 2027 general elections.
